"She's so cute!"

"Can I keep her!?"

Edward rolled his eyes, watching the twins drool over his daughter. Well, his and Bella's daughter; a notion that never crossed his mind. At first, he made it quite clear he thought she was a mistake, and he begged Carlilse to abort the baby. Now seeing the baby twist her small palm in Eve, or Julia's, dark hair, and knowing he helped create such something so beautiful, the guilt twisted in his stomach.

"My turn." Rosalie said with an excited smile, she scooped Renesmee into her arms and made a mad dash down the stairs.

"Ah come on Rosie! Just a little while longer!" The twins cried, following after Rosalie. Edward felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, he didn't need to turn around to know who it was. His optimistic and proud thoughts were a blessing in the body of a vampire.

"I think it's rather miraculous Jacob was able to talk to the pack about little Nessie." He said in a soft tone. "It makes things so much simpler."

"He's going through a lot of changes, I think he just felt ready to take his place with us and the pack."

"Yes, and I believe he is a good suitor for Jayme." He said with confidence in his voice. "Best rescue Nessie before one of those three try to adopt her."

"I'll give them one night." Edward joked, following after the girls.

"You can come out of the tree now." Carlisle announced, looking at the open window behind him. "Aaren Cullen, I know you're behind the tree."

"I'm not behind that one." She sang.

"Oh that's rubbish." Carlisle snorted, feeling like a child again as he summoned the wind to gently brush behind the tree ahead of him. "Don't hide from me."

"Who's hiding?" Carlisle jumped, turning to his left, Aaren stood confidently in the other opened window. Her clothes were ripped at the elbows, she was covered in dirt and twigs, Carlisle imagined she had fallen out of one of the trees trying to sneak up on him.

"Wait, how did you…."

"I can make my presence known in any tree of my choice." Aaren smiled triumphantly, brushing some dirt off her sleeves. "I can also make my voice echo off the trees, kind of like a deceiving tactic."

"You're just full of surprises."

"Speaking of surprises, tell me, is Renesmee your first grandchild?" Aaren asked, walking into the room as Edward disappeared around the corner.

"Yes, and I think we should be thankful Bella and Nessie have survived. How did you decide to have Emily?" Carlisle asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He wondered if Emily's father is a Halfling like Aaren, or if he was a human or werewolf. If it was an adventure to experience Bella bearing and then giving birth to a half vampire, half human baby; then it would be just as adventurous to know how Emily came to fruition.

"Call it lonliness, if you will." Aaren replied, sitting on the couch and placing a bowl of hot soup on the coffee table. Placing her spoon at the end, she poured the broth into a cup and handed it to Carlisle. Smiling graciously, Carlisle took the cup and carefully sipped it. "This was before Eve and Julia came into the picture. I was seeing a man far better than my betrothed husband; he was so charming with a dazzling smile and the warmest eyes to challenge the sun." Carlisle looked at her questioningly; it was rare to hear Aaren compliment any other men beside Carlisle and their father. Without a doubt, this man had won her lonely heart. "We had Emily a few months into our relationship. I had thought of marrying him at one point, but that didn't work out."

"So you were in love?"

"It's hard to say." Aaren crossed her legs, scooping a spoonful of noodles into her mouth. "At the time, the need for company was overdue. When Rick asked me out on a date, I simply answered 'yes', I didn't contemplate. I feel rather guilty though."

"Why do you feel guilty?"

"I think I used him." She set the bowl and spoon down, uncrossing her legs, she rested her elbows on her knees. Her heart ache remembering Rick, seeing his face in her mind, she fought back tears and swallowed the sobs in her throat. "He was just as alone as I was, and I used it against him."

"You were alone, Aaren." Carlisle recognized the depression in her voice. Taking another drink, he joined her on the couch, and placed his hand on hers. "The pain is unbearable, a punishment I would never wish on anyone including ….."

Aaren glanced over at him, hearing his voice trail off. Carlisle's eyes were on the cup, but his attention was distant. Sighing, she held his hand tightly. "It's hard for me to talk about him and our sisters. Who would have thought we would survive to see the new world? I guess we prove we are better than Elizabeth and Danielle."

"Our souls are damned, but we deem our deeds to be saintly."

Aaren sighed as she took another bite, Carlisle was always modest. When he hunted, he always believed he should have done more, despite it being humanely impossible. Clearing her throat, Aaren changed the subject. "Tell me about you and Esme, she seems highly out of your league."

"You think I turned her first?"

"I do?" Aaren giggled as Carlisle playfully elbowed her.

"I swear something's never change with you." Carlisle grinned comically. "Actually, Edward was the first one I changed. He and his mother were dying of the Spanish Influenza, her dying wish was for me to save her son. In a way, I did the same for every member here."

"Talk about things that never change." Aaren said, unsurprised. It fitted his character almost to a point. In a way, Aaren felt proud of him; he refused to give in to what he had become, and kept true to himself. "Is that why you became a doctor?"

"Yes." He took a drink from his cup, and placed it on the coffee table. "Once I realized I could resist human blood, and I have studied enough of the human body."

"Oh don't tell me you went to college."

"I've lost count how many times I have graduated." Carlisle answered bashfully, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, that's something you and I have in common."

"You attended college?" Carlisle asked tilting his head curiously. Aaren was for homework or sitting in a classroom.

"Once they were created." She set the bowl down and began counting on her fingers. "Let's see, I studied dance, law, history-"

"Oh Lord have mercy." Carlisle chuckled. "You turned your hobbies into careers."

"Uh Carlisle, we've got trouble coming." Edward said, running into the room.

"What's wrong?" Carlisle had a few ideas, he prayed that Alice didn't have another vision.

"Charlie's coming."

"Charlie?" Aaren asked. Standing up, she quickly went to his side. Not a second later, she felt Carlisle's fear and stress. Instinctively, she grabbed his hand tightly. "A human ally?"

"He's Bella's father, he doesn't know we are vampires." Carlisle explained, looking down at Aaren. Aaren felt her stomach turn into a knot seeing the uncertainty in his eyes. "I'm not sure what tipped him off, but he last knew Bella was in Atlanta at the Center for Disease Control."

Aaren hissed in a breath, realizing how dire the situation had become. "Then I can assume he knows nothing of Bella's transformation, or the birth of Renesmee."

"Yes, but we can fix it." Carlisle said with confidence, gesturing at Alice. "She'll just have to act human."

"Well that sounds simple enough."

"You and I are lucky, we're half wolf, that makes us more human than most of our family. Bella, however, is a vampire. She does not know how to 'act' human."

"She is also a Newborn." Jasper added, leaning against the wall. "Which could mean disaster."

"Why?"

"Newborn's crave blood, a lot of them can't control their thirst."

"In other words, when Bella see's her father, there is a chance she will bite him?"

"No, she's strong, she won't hurt him." Edward answered, smiling confidently at Bella.

"These will irritate your eyes-they won't hurt, but they'll cloud your vision. It's annoying. They won't match your old color, but it's still better than bright red." Alice informed Bella, Aaren cringed seeing the contact rest into Bella's eyes.

"The main thing is not to sit too still or move too fast." Esme added, smiling motherly.

"Sit down, humans don't like to just stand there." Emmett said, feeling pleased with himself.

"Cross your legs for about five minutes, then switch to crossing your ankles for the next five." Rosealie added, her stern eyes hopping between Bella and Aaren.

"Blink at least three times a minute. Move your hands, too." Jasper jumped in. "You'll be holding your breath as much as possible, but you need to move your shoulders a little to make it look like you're breathing."

"Oh my-" Aaren backed up into the wall, rubbing her temples. "I never though being human would be such a complicated process."

Then a few, loud knocks echoed up the stairs. Carlisle's head shot towards the stairs, imaging Charlie's face through the glass door. Taking a deep breath, Carlisle took charge. "I'll get the door. Aaren, it's best he not see you. He'll have a lot to take in as it is."

Before Aaren could protest, Carlisle was already on the stairs and at the front door. Charlie stood stiff and emotionless outside the door.

"Hello Charlie." Carlisle greeted, waiting to hear Charlie's heart. His started beating slightly faster realizing he wasn't hearing anything. Realizing he couldn't hear Charlie's heart made Carlisle feel excited but stressed.

Curse my emotions, then he felt something tune down his stress and replaced it with tranquility.

"Carlisle," Charlie greeted, his head tossing back and forth uncomfortably. Carlisle couldn't blame him; the family he trusted lied to him for the last few months. Lord only knows what was going through his head. "Where's Bella?"

"Up here dad!"

Carlisle pinches his lips together, hearing Bella's voice ring throughout the house. At this point, Carlisle was thankful for Jasper's gift; his muscles were so tensed that it was suffocating. Managing to keep his smile calm, Carlisle led Charlie up the stairs to where Bella, Edward and Nessie were sitting. He felt somewhat awful for lying to Charlie, but it was for his safety. He could hear the betrayal in his voice as he spoke to Bella, Carlisle knew Bella had the strength to maintain her composure. Bella hated lying to her father. Carlisle couldn't help but feel envious of her again; the relationship Bella and Charlie shared was beautiful. But it was also heart breaking, not because Bella was a whole different species from her father, it reminded him of the little hope he had to have a similar relationship with his father.

At times, Carlisle tried to better the relationship with his father. He begged to help his father with baptism's, make a meal together, take a walk through the woods. Each suggestion was answered with a hand to the face. But it didn't stop Carlisle from trying. Thinking on it now, Carlisle couldn't believe how desperate he was. The memories of his failed attempts felt like a fire in his gut.

Carlisle held his breath, trying to block the stubborn images. The images made his heart hurt worse than ever, Carlisle had hoped that his heart would be delighted knowing their father was dead. But the fear was still there, even hearing his father's name sent an icy chill of fear down his spine.

"Carlisle is a grandfather, too." Hearing his name, Carlisle looked up dazed and noticed Charlie was looking at him with stern eyes. Instinctly, he smiled.

"You look different, Carlisle." Charlie mentioned, walking up to him. Carlisle cursed to himself, of all things to forget, this one should have been recognized. He saw that the rest of the family felt the same, but he couldn't rely on the other's to help him. "You're eyes are blue."

Oh thank God, Carlisle felt a giant weight lifted off his chest.

"And you got something on your neck."

Following Charlie's gaze to his black t-shirt, he stretched the neckline and brought his shoulder up, seeing a few bruises.

"That's a pretty nasty bruise." Charlie commented.

"I assure you, I'm alright. I was wrestling with Emmett." Carlisle lied, hoping his face wasn't turning red. "My apologies for not saying anything, this is my normal eye color." He felt the smile widen on his face, thrilled to actually tell the truth for the first time. The thrilling emotion quickly dissipated into a rock in his gut. "I normally wear contacts when I'm at work."

"Why are they hazel?"

"Well, it's more for vanity reasons." Carlisle grasped his hands into fist, digging his finger nails into his skin. He managed to turn his smile into a modest, bashful grin, scratching the back of his head in an awkward manner. The ingredients for a 'you caught me' expression. "I think I look better with hazel eyes than blue, it's too common of a color in my family."

"Oh rubbish."

Damn, Carlisle cursed in his thoughts as Aaren walked up to him, speaking in a heavy British accent. She also changed her outfit; she was wearing one of Alice's blue sweet heart neckline dresses with black tights, and some of Rosalie's jewelry. With her flowy blond hair, and sparkling blue eyes, Aaren looked like an actress.

"I think you look rather dashing with your natural looks."

"This another daughter?" Charlie asked, shoving his hands into his pocket. Carlisle glanced back up at Charlie, noticing his eyes were struggling to stay on Carlisle.

Oh Lord, please stop her, Carlisle prayed as he wrapped his arm around Aaren's shoulders.

"Actually, this is my sister." Charlie blinked in surprise, which was a hilarious surprise. "Aaren, this is Charlie Swan, he's Bella's father."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Charlie." Aaren smiled, holding her hand out. For a moment, Charlie looked at her hand, then he brought out his hand from his pocket and grabbed it. "I can see my brother has made very fine friends here."

"You're British?" He asked, looking between the two, slightly sweating.

"Yes, she and I were born in London." Carlisle cleared his throat, struggling to bring out his original native accent. Smiling, he continued. "I, too, have an accent. I have managed to speak a more American accent to fit in more."

He swallowed down his laugh, seeing everyone's shocked expression to hear him speak in a native tone.

"You look like twins." Charlie mentioned, still holding Aaren's hand.

"Oh thank you, that is so kind of you to say. Actually, I'm the older sibling."

"Any other surprises I should know about?" Charlie released her hand, shoving it back into his pocket. Carlisle quickly glanced at Aaren, waiting to hear more charismatic lies.

"I am also a mother." Aaren shrugged, giggling. "Of course, she is off doing her studies in Carlisle's library. My daughter, Emily, is quiet intelligent for a young girl."

"You never mentioned you had a family besides this one."

"Carlisle and I were orphaned as children." Aaren lied, backing up, she grabbed Carlisle's hand. Like Carlisle, lying had become an instinctual habit. "Our mother died giving birth to him, our father felt he was not fit to raise two young children. So he gave us to family friends. The family that adopted Carlisle moved to Washington when he was an toddler. He did not know of my existence until recently."

She's about as good of a liar as I, Carlisle thought to himself, hearing the smoothness in her voice. But it was also strange, hearing her mix truths, half-truths and lies in just a couple of sentences. Whatever tactic she was using, it distracted Charlie's anger.

"I guess that makes sense." Charlie managed to say, clearing his throat, his hands started fidgeting. "You two share a few resemblances."

"I agree." Aaren agreed, looking up at Carlisle with a caring smile. "As I recall, Esme believed me to be his twin as well because we have the same hair and eye color."

"You also have the same smile."

Carlisle blinked in surprise, of course, Aaren hardly ever smiled. So it would make sense that he never noticed it before. Looking at her now, he could see his smile on her face.

By the end of his visit, even Bella was thankful for Aaren's surprise and somewhat flirtatious tactic. When he turned to Bella to finish their discussion, he was more at eased, and easier to talk to. He seemed to be smiling a lot more than when he first came in.

"Well he's certainly charming." Aaren said, her accent back to American.

"No." Carlisle said, turning back into the house.

"What?"

"Just no."

"What? I was thinking of nothing."